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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28459968">On Crimson Wings</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/masadora/pseuds/masadora'>masadora</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>IDOLiSH7 (Video Game), Zero: Akai Chou | Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(or at least elements of it i guess), Character Death, Codependency, Fatal Frame 2 AU, Horror, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Ritualistic Sacrifices, additional tags to be added as they appear (and all of them will be heavy)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:42:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,241</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28459968</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/masadora/pseuds/masadora</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rural and isolated, the Minakami village had always been a site for old superstitions and strange, obscure customs. Past the torii gates, flocks of red butterflies circle the skies.</p><p>For Tenn and Riku, it is home and they’d never known anything else. Yet, as they grow older and the villagers begin to whisper of the twins’ sacred duty, Tenn finds himself unsettled. What exactly are they expected to do? Why are there twin deity statues all over the village, with one of the twins always missing their face? And, most importantly…</p><p>What is the Crimson Sacrifice Ritual?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kujou Ten &amp; Nanase Riku, Kujou Ten/Yaotome Gaku</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this is actually the very first i7 AU i ever created, all the way back in 2017 when i first got into the series...fatal frame 2 is a horror game with a twins focus, so practically an i7 AU begging to happen! thus, i decided to write it out properly. if you are familiar with fatal frame 2, you'll already know what direction the plot is going to go. </p><p>if you aren't familiar with fatal frame 2, i encourage for you to NOT search it up right now, and let this fic walk you through its journey instead! i think it'll be more exciting that way. plus you'd spoil the entire plot for yourself if you search it up, so.</p><p>THAT SAID. please take a careful look at the tags and do not read any further if any of them makes you uncomfortable. fatal frame 2 has many morbid elements to it, with a major one being ritualistic sacrifices. character deaths will happen. i will add additional warnings to the beginning of future chapters if it warrants another tag, so please take note of those as well.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The day the twins are born, their village celebrates. Flocks of red butterflies descend from the sky, gathering outside their windows like a crimson mist. A blessing, and a promise.</p><p>“They’re beautiful,” Ceremony Master Kujou says. He peers down at the sleeping infants, the soft rise and fall of their chests as they lay together, tiny fingers entwined tightly with each other’s. “Have you decided on their names?”</p><p>Their mother smiled wanly. “This is Tenn,” she points at the firstborn, a boy with hair of the palest pink, then lays her hand gently on the vibrant red tresses of the boy’s brother. “And that is Riku.” </p><p>Tenn, for the child whose soul is fated to return to heaven. Riku, for the one who will stay behind to watch over Minakami village.</p><p>“These are good names. You understand, then.”</p><p>“…Of course.”</p><p>Kujou smiles and rises to his feet. “They are healthy and strong. Your twins will fulfill their duty just fine.”</p><p>It is, perhaps, a hasty declaration. </p><p>As the twins get older, it becomes apparent that only one of them can be called a healthy child – Riku, the second-born, is plagued with persistent health problems and more than a handful of brushes with death before he’s even had his fifth birthday. </p><p>It’s a struggle to keep up with the other kids, but they never want to play with Riku anyways. While they are hesitant to openly exclude him, they always freeze up and become awkwardly nervous around the Nanase twins. The adults, too, regard him with politely distant words and a sort of apprehensive respect everyone usually saves for the head of the Kujou House. They speak of a duty that cannot yet be revealed.</p><p>It’s a bit sad. Riku doesn’t really get it. He’s not lonely, though – after all, his Tenn-nii is always there, waiting with an encouraging word and a kind smile. Tenn is unfailingly patient, never complaining when Riku is too slow to run alongside him, or when Riku’s poor health stops them from being able to go outside. It’s not fun to be cooped up in their home, and technically, there’s nothing stopping Tenn from going out alone. But he has never chosen to do so.</p><p>Riku doesn’t even have to ask. All it takes is a puppy-eyed stare, maybe a pitiful sniffle, and Tenn-nii will quickly volunteer to keep him company inside. </p><p>He sits on their futons, pushed together with Riku’s favourite book in hand, and begins to read. Riku smiles drowsily and presses his face into Tenn’s shoulder, finding more comfort in his brother’s gentle voice than the words of the story itself. </p><p>The two of them grow up side by side, hand in hand. </p><p>As long as he has Tenn, Riku doesn’t need anything else.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>a very short prologue to kick this fic off! i've prewritten a few chapters, so let's aim for...a sort of weekly update schedule, until this fic comes to its conclusion? it's gonna be a multichap, but not ridiculously long. i hope you'll stick around for the ride! (but once again, please do take note of the tags lol this is my first time posting anything of a darker nature so i'm a little. worried.) </p><p>in any case, i'm <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/redigitizing">@redigitizing</a></strong> on twitter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. tethered</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When they are seven years old, they meet outsiders for the first time. </p><p>The Minakami village dwells in a secluded area of the mountains and its residents kept to themselves, so visitors have always been rare. Filled with curiosity, Riku squeezes through the crowd to get a good look.</p><p>“Riku, you don’t have to rush,” Tenn admonishes. Luckily, they don’t have to push very hard to get to the front. The other villagers part willingly for the twins, who are clad in their characteristic white kimonos with bright red obis. “They’re going to be here for weeks. Maybe a month.”</p><p>The Yaotomes are a wealthy family from the big cities. The visit has included not only the patriarch and his son, but also various other business partners. Supposedly, they are to discuss trade, and perhaps the construction of a proper road through the mountains. Soon the adults are gone, disappearing into Kujou-san’s house to discuss business.</p><p>“I didn’t get to see much at all,” Riku says, disappointed. Then he brightens, an idea coming to mind. “Let’s go ask Sougo-san about them! He gets to meet everyone that goes in and out of the village!”</p><p>The Osaka House is a short walk away, right in front of the village gates. As Riku rounds the corner, however, he crashes head-first into another person, and the impact knocks him off his feet. He hits the ground with a squeak, more surprised than pained.</p><p>“Riku!” Tenn kneels beside him, brushing dirt off his kimono and helping him back to his feet. “Are you okay?”</p><p>“You alright, kid?” another voice echoes. Two boys stand before them, and Riku is surprised to find that he recognizes neither – the Minakami village is small, after all, and there is hardly anyone he doesn’t know. </p><p>But these two are unfamiliar for sure. One of them bearing the same silvery hair he saw on Yaotome Sousuke, while the other boy has tanned skin and a mop of unruly brown hair. Still caught by surprise and a little intimidated, Riku says nothing.</p><p>“Apologize,” Tenn speaks up, demandingly. </p><p>He’s holding Riku’s hand, slanting his body in a way that puts him slightly in front. Both of the other boys are much older, and they tower over him, but Tenn holds their gaze without flinching. “Apologize for knocking my brother over.”</p><p>“You don’t have to sound so accusing,” the silver-haired boy’s expression twists defensively. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”</p><p>“We <em> are </em>sorry, though,” the brown-haired one quickly cuts in with a sheepish smile. “We just got here, and it’s just so much to take in, you know? I guess we weren’t paying attention to where we’re going.”</p><p>“Yeah, so you can stop glaring at me already.” The first boy says pointedly at Tenn, then looks at Riku again. “Sorry about that. You alright?” he repeats.</p><p>“Yes…I’m sorry for bumping into you, too.” Riku squeezes his brother’s hand, ever so gently, and feels the tension ebb out of Tenn’s shoulders. Then he looks back at the two others, smiling. “Are you new? I’ve never seen you before.”</p><p>They <em> are </em>new. The boys introduce themselves as Yaotome Gaku and Tsunashi Ryunosuke; the wealthy heir to the Yaotome name and the son of one of the accompanying business partners. They’ve apparently been exploring the village, killing time while the adults speak with Kujou-san.</p><p>“We got lost. It’s pretty easy to get turned around here…” Ryuu admits, rubbing sheepishly at the back of his head. </p><p>Gaku nods in agreement. “I thought we could use those weird statues as landmarks, but they’re absolutely <em>everywhere</em>.” </p><p>He points at one such statue, erected barely five paces away. Its smooth, stone surface had been carved into the likeliness of a pair of twins, dressed in simple kimonos with a single cord tying them together at the waist. However, only one of the twins had been granted facial features of any kind. </p><p>The second twin’s face is obscured by the wings of a delicately-carved butterfly.</p><p>“It’s impossible to go down a street and not see one,” Gaku continues. “Before I knew it, we were back at the square again.”</p><p>Riku had known these statues his whole life, but maybe outsiders found it strange. “If you want, we can show you around!” Riku offers. “Tenn-nii and I know this village better than anyone.”</p><p>It’s a boast and an exaggeration, but Riku is excited to see new people and eager to get to know them better. Tenn eyes the older boys with a little more warily, but soon concedes with a nod. “Okay. Are you hungry? We can go get something to eat.”</p><p>They have lunch together that day, then again the next day, as well as the day after that. Riku likes them. Gaku and Ryuu don’t shun them like the village kids do, and they don’t look at the twins with a gaze of inherent expectation. While Tenn is initially apprehensive, Riku can see him relaxing more with every passing day. Opening up.</p><p>It’s nice to have other people to play with. One afternoon, they make sweets together.</p><p>“Do you want another one, Riku?”</p><p>“Yes, please,” Riku took another wagashi from the offered plate, rolling the carefully-shaped mochi and bean paste between his fingers and admiring the ears and tail that gave it the likeliness of a bunny. “Ah, this one is so cute!”</p><p>“Almost too cute to eat,” Gaku agreed. He’s moulding the bean paste in his hand, too, but it’s formless and spread out messily across his fingers. With a sigh of defeat, he throws it back into the bowl. “Ugh, I can’t do it. It’s harder than it looks.”</p><p>Riku shrugs and pops the bunny into his mouth. He looks across the table, where Ryuu makes another one with quick, practiced movements, then displays the finished product for Tenn to copy. “I didn’t think Ryuu-san would be so good at this kind of thing.”</p><p>“His hands look big and rough, but they can get up to some pretty detailed work. Tenn’s learning fast, too.”</p><p>Indeed, it isn’t long before Tenn triumphantly holds up a rabbit-shaped wagashi of his own. It’s a little mushy from the repeated squishing and incredibly lopsided, but a valiant attempt nonetheless, and Ryuu applauds enthusiastically. “Well done, Tenn!”</p><p>“Not bad for your first try.” Gaku reaches over to ruffle his hair, bits of red bean stuck to his fingers. Tenn laughs, batting his hand away, and offers him the wagashi to try.</p><p>It’s a happy scene. Riku’s not sure why it makes him feel queasy.</p><p>“I want one, too,” he blurts out. “I want one made by you, Tenn-nii.”</p><p>“You sure?” Gaku says around a full mouth. “He’s been squeezing the mochi for too long. It’s lukewarm and tastes kind of gross.”</p><p>“Why you–” Tenn’s face scrunches up, indignant, and he turns away from Gaku with a huff. “Fine, then I won’t make any more for you! I’ll make one for Riku. He’ll like it.”</p><p>“I will!” Riku quickly agrees. He squeezes between the two of them, and clings to Tenn’s arm. “If Tenn-nii made it, I’m sure it’ll be yummy.”</p><p>Although Tenn’s second attempt at wagashi-making is also lukewarm and lopsided, Riku eats it all and tells him that it’s the best he’s ever tasted. It’s a lie, but the beaming smile Tenn gives him makes it worthwhile. </p><p>That evening, Tenn clears off their kitchen table and sits down, shaping rice flour and sugar by candlelight. Riku sits next to him, clutching at his favourite book. He wants to ask Tenn to read him a bedtime story, but he looks busy.</p><p>“Why are you making so many?” </p><p>“I want to practice.” Tenn holds his latest attempt up for inspection, then frowns and sets it aside in a plate of designated failures. “I’ll make one that tastes and looks good – a perfect one that Gaku can’t say anything bad about.”</p><p>Riku puts his head down on the table. “<em>I </em> like your wagashi, Tenn-nii. More than Ryuu-san’s.”</p><p>“Thank you. You’re a good boy, Riku.” Tenn’s gaze strays to the book in Riku’s hands, and offers him a gentle smile. “Wait a little bit, okay? I’ll read it for you once I’m done.”</p><p>He makes a whole plate full of sweets that evening, and carefully wraps up the two best-looking ones to bring to their friends tomorrow. Riku watches, frowning, and wonders why his approval, alone, isn’t enough. </p><p>Weeks pass. Somewhere along the line, Tenn has become the one waiting impatiently by the door in the morning, rocking back and forth on his heels in anticipation as they get ready to meet Gaku and Ryuu outside. </p><p>“Where are you going?” their parents are starting to say. “Going to meet those city boys again? Be careful.”</p><p>“We’ll be careful!” Tenn agrees, smiling.</p><p>This is a good thing. It has to be. Tenn is happy, so Riku is, too.</p><p>“Ready or not, here I come!” he sing-songs, and lets his hands fall from his eyes as he takes a good look around. </p><p>They’re playing hide-and-seek near the Old Tree, in the depths of the forest, where the foliage grew so thick that it filtered out most of the sunlight. Most of the villagers avoided this place, but it’s a good playground and there are lots of places to hide. Flocks of red butterflies accompany him as Riku peeks under a thick bush, then methodically begins to check behind the trees and boulders. </p><p>He finds Ryuu first – he’s the oldest among them and almost as tall as an adult, so it isn’t long before Riku spots a tuft of brown hair peeking out from behind a berry bush. He tip-toes close, circling around, then leaps forward with a gleeful shout. “Found you!”</p><p>“You’ve got me,” Ryuu says with a laugh. He rises to his feet. “Shall we go look for Gaku and Tenn together?”</p><p>“Okay!”</p><p>But they’re nowhere to be found. Riku looks behind every boulder, under every bush. He even goes inside the hollowed stump of the Old Tree, just in case. Ryuu follows him, marveling at the long rows of altars with jizo statues and spinning pinwheels laid out like a massive field of paper flowers. </p><p>“What is this place?”</p><p>“It’s the Old Tree. The Remaining are laid to rest here.”</p><p>“What are the Remaining?”</p><p>Riku doesn’t know. He’s just repeating what he’d heard from his parents. “This place is special,” he says instead. “Let’s go check somewhere else. Playing in a sacred place would be rude, and Tenn-nii wouldn’t do that.”</p><p>Still, he can’t find Tenn nor Gaku. Ryuu searches too, but he doesn’t seem to be having much luck. At some point, the game stops being fun. It becomes frustrating instead, as he runs hopefully behind yet another tree, only to be met with disappointment.</p><p>“I don’t want to play anymore!” Riku finally shouts, cupping his hands around his mouth and giving a petulant stomp of his feet. “Tenn-nii, come out! I can’t find you!”</p><p>“Are you giving up, Riku?”</p><p>Tenn’s voice comes right above him. Riku gasps and snaps his head up, to see two pairs of mischievous eyes peering at him through the foliage. </p><p>“You climbed up the trees?” Ryuu looks surprised, too. “I never thought of that…!”</p><p>“It’s a good idea, isn’t it?” Gaku preens. </p><p>“Of course it was,” Tenn agrees, then adds pointedly. “The idea was mine.”</p><p>“Yeah, but you needed my help climbing up,” Gaku shoots back. The branches rustle as he climbs down, jumping the last few feet and landing lightly. He turns back toward Tenn with a smug look. “And it looks like you need my help getting down, too.”</p><p>Indeed, there’s a significant height between the lowest branch where Tenn’s currently sitting, and the ground below. Gaku’s older and taller, so he can cover the distance without trouble, but Tenn’s shorter legs swing far above ground. When he looks down, his expression is nervous. </p><p>“Here,” Gaku holds out his arms. “Jump and I’ll catch you.”</p><p>Instead of being placated, Tenn’s face hardens into a determined frown. </p><p>“Don’t tell me what to do,” he says, and pushes off the branch towards the opposite direction.</p><p>Riku’s stomach twists into a knot, and suddenly, he knows what’s about to happen before Tenn even hits the ground. It’s too high of a jump, after all – Tenn lands badly, on the side of his foot, and he lets out a pained gasp before his leg crumples under him.</p><p>“Tenn-nii! Tenn-nii, are you okay?!”</p><p>“Oh crap– I told you to jump <em> towards </em>me!”</p><p>“Don’t scold him <em> now</em>, Gaku.” Ryuu rounds out their trio of concerned voices. A lifetime of older brother instincts kick in and he gently eases Tenn into sitting position, a hand around the younger boy’s back. </p><p>“Tenn-nii,” Riku crowds to his side, his eyes already starting to spill over with tears. “Tenn-nii, is your leg okay? Does it hurt a lot?”</p><p>“I’m okay.” Tenn’s voice is strained. For a moment, he sounds as if he’s about to cry, too – but at the sight of Riku’s stricken expression, he takes a deep breath and blinks the tears back. “Don’t worry, Riku. I’m alright.”</p><p>“He’ll be okay,” Ryuu encourages. “Tenn, can you stand?”</p><p>With Ryuu’s help, he tries – but the moment he puts weight onto his left ankle, he loses his balance and has to grit his teeth to stifle a cry of pain. Riku rushes forward to catch his arm, pulling Tenn up before he can fall again.</p><p>Ryuu bites his lip. “I think you sprained it pretty badly.”</p><p>“I didn’t mean for…” Gaku’s face had gone pale. He reaches for Tenn, “Let’s get you back to the village. I’ll carry–”</p><p>He pauses, taken aback, as Riku slaps his hand away.</p><p>“Riku,” Tenn starts, stunned.</p><p>“…Sorry, Gaku-san.” He’d moved without thinking, lashing out impulsively out of some inherently-felt need to protect his brother in this moment of vulnerability. </p><p>In a way, Gaku’s teasing was what prompted Tenn to do something so reckless, so he’d felt a fleeting urge to blame the older boy – but that’s not right,  either.</p><p>He wipes at his face, willing for himself to stop crying. Riku grabs Tenn’s arm, and slings it over his shoulder. “I’ll carry Tenn-nii back.”</p><p>“You can’t,” Tenn protests. “I’m too heavy. Don’t strain yourself.”</p><p>“I can do it, Tenn-nii.” Riku takes a step forward, and immediately stumbles under his brother’s weight. Still, he puffs out his cheeks and continues. “You’ve carried me like this before, so I can definitely carry you.”</p><p>“But–” </p><p>“You can rely on me!”</p><p>They start walking. Riku tries his best, but he’s winded and out of breath before they’ve even gotten to the stairs leading down from the shrine. When he starts to wheeze audibly, Tenn digs his heel into the ground and forces them to stop.</p><p>“Let go of me, Riku. You’re going to have an attack.”</p><p>“But I…” frustrated tears gather again at the edge of Riku’s eyes. He’s not even carrying Tenn, not <em> really </em>– his older brother is limping along on his good leg, so he’s only bearing less than half of his weight. “I want to help you, Tenn-nii!”</p><p>“You’re not helping anyone if you make yourself sick.” Tenn pushes him away, clearly having made up his mind, his tone becoming sharp. “Let go!”</p><p>It’s not often that Tenn-nii will raise his voice at him, and Riku draws back with a flinch. He watches as Ryuu takes his place by Tenn’s side and, with Gaku’s help, the two of them easily heave Tenn up to be carried on Ryuu’s back.</p><p>He’s trying his best, but…he can’t do something like that.</p><p>Why is it that these two can help Tenn-nii so easily, while his own efforts are rejected…?</p><p>Before he knows it, he’s crying again, with loud heaving sobs and drawn-out wails that make it difficult to breath. All three of the other children look up in alarm, and Ryuu hurries to kneel down besides Riku, so Tenn can reach him.</p><p>“Riku, Riku–” Tenn cups his face with both hands, wiping away his tears with the sleeves of his white kimono. “Please don’t cry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”</p><p>“Tenn-nii…” Riku can hardly see past the blur of his tears. “I’m sorry!”</p><p>“For what?”</p><p>It’s difficult to hug Tenn in this position, so Riku shuffles as close as he can, pressing his face into his touch. “I can’t carry you, after all. I’m sorry I’m not strong enough. I want to help Tenn-nii,” he continues tearfully, “You’re hurt. But I can’t do anything…!”</p><p>As he continues to cry, Tenn wipes away his tears, his brows furrowed in distress as he searches for a way to reassure his younger brother. After a few moments, he starts to rub his thumb across Riku’s cheeks in a gentle, soothing motion. “You said you can’t do anything, but that’s not true.”</p><p>Riku sniffles, but the tears keep coming. </p><p>“…Will you hold my hand, Riku?”</p><p>The question is so surprising that it stops his tears momentarily. “H-Huh?”</p><p>Tenn closes his eyes. “My ankle hurts a lot…at first, I wanted to cry too. But when you’re here, it makes me braver. I think I’ll feel better if you hold my hand.”</p><p>A request like that is too simple, isn’t it? Will it really help? But then again, Riku can remember all the times when he was upset and sad and hurting, and how much better he felt when Tenn held his hand throughout. Hesitantly, Riku reaches out and takes his brother’s hand between his own. “Like this?”</p><p>“Mhm. Just like that.”</p><p>Ryuu stands up again, shifting to get a better grip on Tenn, then offers the younger twin a comforting smile. “Ready to head back, Riku-kun? Keep a tight grip on Tenn, now.”</p><p>Tenn gives his hand a squeeze. “Don’t let go.”</p><p>All of a sudden, this feels like an important job – and it’s something only he can do. Riku takes a deep breath, wiping away the last of his tears, and nods firmly. “I won’t, Tenn-nii. Don’t worry! I’ll never, ever let you go.”</p><p>The four of them start on the path back to the village. Riku tries very hard to emanate a sense of comfort through their joined hands.</p><p>Tenn keeps turning to smile at him, so his feelings must have gotten through, after all.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>a nice and easy start? the 'gatekeeper' family in fatal frame 2 is actually called the Osaka House - i didn't even have to change anything for it, lol. and i couldn't stop thinking about Sougo the whole time i was playing... &gt;.&lt;</p><p>there are two such 'childhood' prelude chapters to set the stage. so, one more!</p><p>as always, i'm <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/redigitizing">@redigitizing</a></strong> on twitter &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. leashed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s a long walk back to Minakami proper. Even Ryuu is tired by the end of it, weighed down by Tenn, clinging to his back. </p><p>The good news is that there’s barely any need to call out to the adults for help. The first woman that spots them gasps and takes off running in the direction of the Nanase home. Another woman follows suit, heading for the Kujou House.</p><p>More adults gather, whispering and forming an awkward half-circle around the four children, but nobody tries to get close or even address them properly. </p><p>Gaku and Ryuu exchange an uncertain look. “Um, excuse me,” Ryuu speaks first, turning hesitantly between the gathering crowd of adults. “Tenn-kun hurt his ankle, and–”</p><p>“His parents are being notified,” someone says. “Ceremony Master Kujou as well. In the meantime, please step away from the twins.”</p><p>Ryuu blinks. “Step...away?”</p><p>Nobody bothers to clarify. “What’s with these people?” Gaku says in a harsh whisper, placing a protective hand over both Tenn and Riku’s shoulders. “They’re just <em> staring</em>.”</p><p>“They almost never talk to us directly,” Tenn says. “Not unless we ask them a question.”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“Because we’re twins.”</p><p>Gaku opens his mouth, looking even more confused than before, but it’s at that moment when the Nanase parents arrive. The crowd parts for them like flowing water, and their father quickly reaches to sweep Tenn out of Ryuu’s arms.</p><p>Under normal circumstances, minor injuries like this would not be a cause for alarm; it’s the sort of thing that happened every day due to the simplicity of children being <em> children</em>. Yet the worry on their parents’ faces is unmistakable, and Riku catches sight of his mother speaking briefly with Ceremony Master Kujou, their heads bent quietly together. </p><p>When she looks up again, her eyes linger on the forms of Gaku and Ryuu.</p><p>Meanwhile, Tenn is carried home by their father and abruptly confined to a week of bed-rest. “It’s more than I need,” he protests feebly. But nobody listens. </p><p>And so, Riku finds their roles reversed.</p><p>Tenn is the one being given restrictions now. Not allowed to go outside. Not allowed to step past the boundaries of their bedroom. Needing help to fetch the smallest of things. Riku knows that Tenn <em> can </em>walk, can hobble and limp while leaning on his good leg, but his older brother is too obedient and well-behaved to go against their parents’ wishes. Sullenly, he allows himself to be put to bed.</p><p>“It’ll be okay, Tenn-nii,” Riku squeezes his hand. “I’ll bring you whatever you need.”</p><p>“Mhm...”</p><p>That response is too half-hearted. Maybe Tenn doesn’t believe he can do it? Riku squeezes again. “I’ll take care of you!” he insists. “It’ll be just like what you used to do for me.”</p><p>This time, Tenn smiles a little. “Yes, yes,” he chides. “I’m sure you will.”</p><p>“Then why do you still look sad?”</p><p>“Do I?” Tenn blinks. Then he ducks his head, almost embarrassed. “I was thinking, if I’ll be here for a whole week...well,” his voice becomes even softer. “Gaku and Ryuu have to leave soon, right? I didn’t think I’d spend the last couple of days bedridden.”</p><p>Oh. So Tenn is thinking about them again. “I’m sure it will work out!” Riku tries to reassure. “Once you feel better, we can talk to mom and dad and convince them to let you outside. In the meantime,” he puffs out his chest. “Tell me if you need anything!”</p><p>“Okay,” Tenn finally squeezes back. “Thank you, Riku.”</p><p>The rules imposed on Tenn seem like a strange overreaction, but Riku quickly forgets about it as he relishes in his new chance to play caretaker. Tenn never asks anything of him, but Riku takes it upon himself to fetch their meals. He does some chores. At night, when they settle in beside each other to sleep, Riku snatches up their bedside storybook before Tenn can.</p><p>“Tenn-nii should rest today,” he insists. “So I’ll read it for you!”</p><p>Dawn brings forth the start of a beautiful new day, and Riku pushes open the window to allow the visit of a few red butterflies. Their morning passes quietly. He’s on his way back from the kitchen when a chorus of voices make him pause.</p><p>“–Just wondering how he’s doing.”</p><p>Their mother answers. “Not today. Maybe next time.”</p><p>“But we brought Tenn a gift,” the first voice insists. “Can’t we see him? Just for a bit.”</p><p>“Like I said, Tenn isn’t well enough to receive visi–”</p><p>“Gaku-san?” Riku steps forward. “Ryuu-san?”</p><p>“Riku!” Gaku cranes his neck, looking past the Nanase parents and holding up his hands to show off the small paper box he held. He beams. “How are you doing? How’s Tenn?”</p><p>“We came to see him,” Ryuu adds. “Your parents said that Tenn was hurt pretty badly and we were worried, so…”</p><p>Riku stares. His mother is giving him a look that he can’t quite understand.</p><p>“Tenn-nii’s okay,” he says hesitantly. “It’s just a sprained ankle.”</p><p>His father presses his lips together in a thin, flat line. There’s a pause before he finally steps out of the way, tugging his wife back as well. “Go on, boys,” he nods at Gaku and Ryuu. “Riku will show you to their room. Just a quick visit, alright?”</p><p>Gaku doesn’t need further prompting. He steps inside with Ryuu behind him, and together they make their way down the old, narrow hallway.</p><p>Riku speaks first. “What are you carrying?”</p><p>“Sweets,” Gaku raises the box, shaking it slightly. “The kind that Tenn likes. Your parents swept him away so quickly yesterday we barely got the chance to say goodbye!”</p><p>“I felt like they weren’t too happy about us showing up here, either,” Ryuu says, casting a brief glance behind himself. “I hope we’re not intruding.”</p><p>“You’re not!” Riku reassures, even as he thinks back to the complicated look on his mother’s face. “Tenn-nii will be happy to see you guys. My parents are just...worried, I think.”</p><p>They push open the door. “Riku, welcome ba–” Tenn turns to greet them, and his face lights up upon seeing their unexpected visitors. “Oh!”</p><p>“Hey, brat. How’re you doing?” Gaku sets down the box, giving Tenn’s hair an affectionate ruffle. “I heard you were too sick to receive visitors.”</p><p>“I’m not! Who told you that?” Tenn bats his hand away, but he’s smiling. “It’s nothing serious. I’m only bedridden because my parents insisted.”</p><p>Ryuu begins to distribute the sweets they’d brought. “I’m glad you’re alright, Tenn.”</p><p>“You guys worry too much!”</p><p>There’s a chorus of good-natured laughter as they crowd around Tenn’s futon. It’s a tight fit with four people, and the quiet comforts of their room is different with Gaku and Ryuu here. The small, simple space that had always been just for the two of them is louder now. Brighter.</p><p>Riku’s not entirely sure if he likes it. Wordlessly, he sucks on the inside of his cheeks.</p><p>“We meant to come earlier in the morning,” Gaku is saying. “Got a bit lost, though.”</p><p>“How? I told you to follow the Twin Deity Statues.”</p><p>“As if that means anything! Those statues are <em> everywhere</em>,” Gaku spreads out his arms as emphasis. “Actually, I think following them was what got us lost.”</p><p>“It’s easy for you, Tenn, because Minakami is your home,” Ryuu says. “But to us, they really all look the same. If you don’t mind me asking, why are there so many?”</p><p>Tenn and Riku exchange a look. Riku shrugs. “They’re the guardian spirits of our village,” Riku says. “Twins are special here.”</p><p>“Twins like you?”</p><p>“Twins like us,” Tenn echoes with a nod. “There are special things only we can do. The statues are made in the image of previous twins who’d undergone the ritual.”</p><p>Ryuu’s brows furrow. “What kind of ritual?”</p><p>“Twins like us share a single soul,” Riku grabs Tenn’s hand again. “We were separated into two at birth.”</p><p>“When the ritual reunites us, we’ll return to being one.” Eerie words, coming from a child, but Tenn speaks in an open, matter-of-face voice. He raises his hand, pointing at one of the crimson butterflies that had flown in to rest on the windowsill. “Once it’s over, Riku and I will become guardian spirits like all of the twins before us.”</p><p>For the two of them, this is simply an echo of what they had been taught by the adults. Their role is unique; one with great responsibility and honour.</p><p>This is what makes them special, and Riku is proud of it.</p><p>...So why are Gaku and Ryuu staring at them like that?</p><p>Tenn notices, too. “Is something wrong?”</p><p>“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude!” Ryuu recovers first. “It’s...a very interesting story.”</p><p>Gaku, too, is looking between the butterfly and the twins like he isn’t quite sure what to say. “So, like…” he hesitates. “What does the ritual involve? What is it supposed to do?”</p><p>“It gives our village good fortune,” Tenn answers, tilting his head slightly. “The mountains can be harsh. The ritual ensures that we’ll always have good harvests and fair weather.”</p><p>“Okay. Right. About the two of your…”</p><p>“Your, um, souls,” Ryuu picks up where Gaku had trailed off. He seems like he’s trying very hard to find the right words. “How does the ritual reunite you?”</p><p>Why are they asking so many questions? “You wouldn’t understand. It’s something only <em> we </em>can do,” Riku says. “Ceremony Master Kujou said so.”</p><p>Tenn nods in agreement. “The priests will guide us through it when the time is right. They’ll give us special clothes, the one with the red cord to tie us together, and we’ll go past the Whisper Bridge to the Kujou House. And then,” he pauses, frowning. “And then…um...”</p><p>He stops, and turns to look at Riku instead. Riku stares back, and realizes that he can’t say what comes next, either.</p><p>“I don’t know,” Tenn finally admits.</p><p>“That’s alright,” Ryuu says immediately. “I’m sorry if we asked too much.”</p><p>Riku squirms a little. “We can ask our parents, if you want.”</p><p>“Nah, I just think it’s kind of....” Gaku scratches at the back of his head, looking slightly troubled. “Look. Don’t take this the wrong way, but–”</p><p>“Boys.”</p><p>A new voice interrupts them. The door to their room slides open to reveal the twins’ parents, and their mother offers a bland smile at the gathered children.</p><p>“Yaotome-kun and Tsunashi-kun, was it?” she says. “I’m sorry to cut this visit short, but it’s time for Tenn to rest now.”</p><p>Ryuu stands up quickly. “Of course! Sorry for intruding.”</p><p>“Not at all.”</p><p>Gaku follows, a little more reluctantly. “Can we come back tomorrow?”</p><p>“Oh, I don’t know. Only if Tenn is feeling better.”</p><p>Saying things like that...it’s a bit much, isn’t it? Unlike the illnesses and breathing difficulties that plagued Riku, Tenn’s sprained ankle shouldn’t stop him from entertaining visits. Indeed, Tenn is wearing an expression that plainly says he feels <em> fine</em>, but he ultimately makes no move to protest. Obediently, he bids Gaku and Ryuu goodbye, and the twins watch together as the door slides shut again to the sounds of their friends’ departing footsteps.</p><p>For a moment, neither of them speak. Riku looks to the window, but the red butterfly had already flown away.</p><p>“...Gaku and Ryuu are from a big city,” Tenn finally breaks the silence. “The twin deity statues are special to our village anyways. Of course they wouldn’t understand.”</p><p>Slowly, Riku nods. “Yeah. Okay. Maybe we just have to explain it better.”</p><p>“Maybe.”</p><p>They don’t talk about it again.</p>
<hr/><p>Although Tenn’s ankle heals, their parents refuse to let him out, always fussing over the possibility of it “healing wrong” and “by the time you notice, it’ll be too late.” The rest of the week comes and goes.</p><p>Yaotome Sosuke and his entourage from the city leaves, too.</p><p>In the end, Gaku and Ryuu only visit once more to say goodbye. Ryuu gives them both a hug. Gaku hesitates, like he wants to say something extra, but swallows his words upon catching sight of the twins’ parents, lingering near the room’s entrance.</p><p>“Take care of yourselves,” he gives them both a rough pat on the shoulder. “Ryuu and I will write to you guys, okay?”</p><p>Tenn nods stiffly. “Okay.”</p><p>“Come visit us again!” Riku says, mostly for Tenn’s sake. He can feel the tension in Tenn’s hand, the way his fingers tremble. “Promise?”</p><p>“It’s a promise.”</p><p>And with that, the two of them are gone. Tenn curls in a little on himself, resting his forehead against his knees. Riku pats his back, very gently.</p><p>“It’s okay, Tenn-nii.”</p><p>Riku means what he says. It’s sad to see their friends leave, but outsiders are never meant to stay in their village for very long.</p><p>Besides, as long as they still had each other…</p><p>Isn’t that more than enough?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>the second and last part of the 'childhood' segment! kudos and comments are appreciated~</p><p>as always, i'm <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/redigitizing">@redigitizing</a></strong> on twitter</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. entwined</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One afternoon, Osaka Sougo comes knocking on their door.</p><p>He does so very discreetly, slipping inside with barely a sound and lingering near the corner so that nobody will look through the window and see him standing in the Nanase residence. “Someone’s here to see you,” Sougo says. “He is waiting at Misono Hill.”</p><p>In truth, there is very little point in playing coy with the identity of their guest. Minakami isn’t a village that often entertains visitors – only a handful of people ever bothered to make the trip up the mountains every year, and they hadn’t had any extended visits in close to a decade. If a visitor came to see the twins specifically, then that narrowed the possibilities down to a grand total of two people.</p><p>Nevertheless, Tenn appreciates Sougo’s discretion. He could have simply turned the visitor away. He <em> should </em>have reported it to Ceremony Master Kujou first.</p><p>Not many in the village would have been willing to do them a favour like this.</p><p>“Thank you, Osaka-san,” he says. “Please let me know if you ever need anything.”</p><p>Sougo smiles, in that very subdued way of his, and bids them goodbye. Tenn sets down the spools of yarn with which he had been weaving, brushes off the scraps of cloth from his white kimono, and stands up.</p><p>Riku watches, making no move to get up himself. “Are you going to meet him now?”</p><p>“Well, I can’t leave him by the hill,” Tenn cocks his head to the side. “Aren’t you coming?”</p><p>“Maybe later,” Riku gives him a crooked half-smile. “I think our mysterious visitor would prefer to see you first.”</p><p>Colour rises up to Tenn’s cheeks, and he makes a shushing motion at Riku before turning to step outside.</p><p>Misono Hill lies at the very edge of Minakami’s territory. It’s the only real path in and out of the village, with a heavily-overgrown western trail that extends to the forests and cemetery, as well as a proper eastern road that leads into the village proper. </p><p>The latter is overseen by the Osaka House, who had always served as the traditional gatekeepers and guardians of the village. As he walks past, Sougo offers a wordless nod from behind lattice windows. Tenn quickens his steps.</p><p>Past that, further up the hill–</p><p>“Gaku!” </p><p>Almost ten years had passed since their first meeting. They’ve both grown up, no longer children who ran laughing through tall grass and bushes – but seeing Gaku like this made his breath catch, just a little. With his height and broad shoulders, clad in the finer clothes from the city, he made a striking figure against the simplicity of their rural village. </p><p>There’s an easy smile on Gaku’s face as he pushes himself up against where he had been leaning against the village’s torii gate. “Tenn. There you are.”</p><p>Tenn is caught between wanting to hug Gaku and wanting to scold him. The latter wins out. “Didn’t you read my last letter?” he blurts out. “They didn’t give me permission to leave.”</p><p>“I saw. But–”</p><p>“You’re lucky Osaka Sougo was on overseeing duty today!” </p><p>Gaku makes a face. “Do we have to talk about this?”</p><p>“What do you think?” Once he’s started, it’s hard to stop. Tenn crosses his arms. “Gaku, I’ve told you before that the path from Misono Hill is always watched. Any other Osaka would have reported your arrival to Ceremony Master Kujou right away.”</p><p>“Geez, I know already!” Gaku rolls his eyes, giving a small huff of exasperation. “Don’t get carried away with how happy you are to see me or anything.”</p><p>“I <em> am </em> happy,” Tenn sucks in a deep breath. “It’s just...the rules are stricter now. If anyone <em> but </em>Osaka Sougo had seen you, they would’ve had you put under arrest and sent away without telling me. You would’ve made the trip for nothing.”</p><p>“I know. But that’s a risk I was willing to make,” Gaku says. This time, he raises his hand, brushing his knuckles lightly against the side of Tenn’s cheek. “I wanted to see you.”</p><p>Tenn can feel his face heating up again. He ducks his head. “You’re so embarrassing.”</p><p>“You like that about me.” </p><p>“Your ego is embarrassing, too!”</p><p>Gaku laughs and, for a moment, the two of them are simply free to bask in this comfortable familiarity.</p><p>“Where’s Riku? He didn’t come with you?”</p><p><em> He probably thought he was being considerate</em>. “Riku told me to go first.”</p><p>“Did he, now,” Gaku hums. Then his expression turns serious. “The two of you are okay? Nothing strange has happened?”</p><p>“...No,” Tenn blinks. “Define ‘strange.’”</p><p>“I’d consider Minakami’s long list of rules as ‘strange.’ Not to mention their utter refusal to let you and Riku out of the village, even for a short trip.”</p><p>Tenn sighs and digs the front of his sandals into the ground, toeing at the soft dirt. “I suppose the approval of a pleasure trip isn’t high on Ceremony Master Kujou’s list of priorities.”</p><p>“Why not?” Gaku scoffs. “I just want to show you and Riku around the city, and it won’t cost Kujou anything. Ryuu and I will take care of the arrangements. If it was about anyone else, the trip would have been approved already.”</p><p>“They’ve always been wary of outsiders.”</p><p>Gaku shakes his head. “Face it, Tenn. This isn’t about anything else. They just don’t want to allow the two of you, <em> specifically</em>, to set foot outside this village.”</p><p>His words hang heavily in the air between them.</p><p>“There’s been a bit of tension, lately,” Tenn finally says. “The harvests haven’t been as good. Sometimes, the weather becomes unpredictable. The ground rumbles and shakes. This is why our rules about outsiders have become more strict, and why they won’t let you any further than the Osaka House anymore. Under these circumstances...”</p><p>He turns his gaze upwards. Even in the village outskirts, Minakami’s signature crimson butterflies can be commonly seen. When Tenn extends a hand, one of them flutters down to perch freely on his finger.</p><p>“Under these circumstances, isn’t it natural that the two of us should remain in the village, so we can carry out our duty whenever needed?”</p><p>Gaku regards him for a moment. Then, very gently, he extends his hand to the butterfly as well – but the minute he gets close, it flies away.</p><p>“Do you think they’ll let you leave after it’s over?”</p><p>“I don’t see why not.”</p><p>“But you don’t even know what that duty is.”</p><p>“...No, I don’t.”</p><p>Saying it out loud makes him feel a little queasy, too. Almost a decade had passed since Gaku first asked him about the ritual, but the truth is that Tenn hardly knows any more than he did back then, when he was only seven years old. They keep getting older, stepping closer and closer to the point when they will be expected to fulfill their duty – but just what was waiting for them at the end of this tunnel? </p><p>What should they do to prepare? How can they be trusted to perform adequately, when they hardly know what to expect of the whole situation?</p><p>“I’m worried about you, Tenn,” Gaku says. There’s a deep, sincere concern in his eyes. “You and Riku both. I know you don’t like hearing this. I know this place is your home. But there’s something about this whole ritual situation that just...doesn’t feel right to me.”</p><p>Tenn fidgets uncomfortably, and tries to force a smile. “I suppose our backwater rural superstitions aren’t for everyone.”</p><p>“That’s not it. You said it yourself – Osaka Sougo is sympathetic, but any other person would have reported my visit and kept me away from you. How is that <em> not </em>suspicious?”</p><p>It <em> is </em>strange. Tenn realized now, that his own parents had been trying to distance him from Gaku and Ryuu ever since that incident with his ankle. </p><p>Minakami’s residents had always disliked associating with outsiders in general, but when it came to the twins...the degree to which everyone else tried to keep them solely in the village’s bubble is extreme. Gaku and Ryuu used to visit them every year, but the rules kept changing. First, it was that outsiders must be reported before they are allowed inside. Then, it was that outsiders were not permitted to enter the forest or go near the Kureha Shrine. </p><p>Finally, in recent years, outsiders had been banned from going past the Osaka House at the mouth of the village altogether. Visitors were housed with the Osakas for the duration of their extremely expedited stay and once their business was done, they were forced to leave. Ryuu had come to visit last summer, but Tenn hadn’t even known until three days after his forced departure, when Sougo pulled him aside with hushed, guilt-ridden whispers.</p><p>“I’ll look into it,” Tenn finally says. “I’ll find out what it’s all about, and I’ll be careful.”</p><p>“Then what?”</p><p>“Then, once Riku and I complete our duty…” Tenn raises an eyebrow. “I’ll be expecting you to make good on your promise to show us around the city.”</p><p>Gaku barks out a laugh. “No problems there. You fulfill your end of the promise, and I’ll fulfill mine. So stay safe.”</p><p>“You too,” Tenn replies, glad that the tension had dissipated somewhat. “What will you do now? The sun is going to set soon.”</p><p>“Yeah, I won’t be able to make it back down the mountain in the dark. It took me the whole morning and then some to find my way here,” Gaku runs a hand through his hair, letting out an exaggerated sigh. “I guess I’ll go turn myself into the Osakas. Even if they keep me under house arrest and kick me out at dawn, I’ve already gotten to see you.”</p><p>“I’m sorry we couldn’t even treat you to a meal, after you came all the way out here.”</p><p>“Don’t worry about it. But take this, will you?”</p><p>Tenn blinks as a bundle is deposited into his hands; something small but weighty, wrapped in silk and tied with a pink ribbon. </p><p>“What is it?”</p><p>“A gift. I’d tell you to open it now, but I don’t want it to somehow get confiscated on your way back if you carry it out in the open.”</p><p>Oh. It’s almost July, that’s true. “For our birthdays?”</p><p>“No!” Gaku’s refusal comes so quickly that it leaves Tenn blinking. A rare flustered look crosses Gaku’s face as he clears his throat. “I mean, no, I’ll send a proper birthday gift to you and Riku later. This...” his voice drops, becoming much softer. “This is just for you.”</p><p>Tenn’s eyes widen. Suddenly, he feels...bashful, almost, and averts his gaze.</p><p>“...Thank you.” Then, with a flash of inspiration, “I’ll find an excuse to drop by the Osakas’ first thing tomorrow morning. That’ll at least allow Riku and I see you off.”</p><p>Gaku smiles back. “Then I’ll save our goodbye for later.”</p><hr/><p>Later, in the privacy of their shared bedroom, Tenn carefully unwraps the bundle. </p><p>Sitting within the colourful pools of silk is a jeweled hairpin. Its glossy silver finish catches in the candlelight, with tiny twinkling gemstones and the delicately-shaped petals of a lily in full bloom. The elaborate craftsmanship must’ve cost a small fortune.</p><p>“Where’d you get that?”</p><p>Riku peeks over his shoulder. Tenn jumps a little but automatically shifts back, allowing his brother a better look; there are no secrets between them. “Gaku gave it to me.”</p><p>There’s a pause. Riku stills with one hand reaching forward, half-outstretched.</p><p>“...Riku?”</p><p>“A gift from Gaku-san, huh!” Riku says. His voice is light as he leans down a little more, plucking the hairpin out of Tenn’s lap and holding it up to the light. The dangling jewels make a soft sound, like chimes. “Wow, look at the details...he has good taste.”</p><p>He holds it against Tenn’s hair, still humming, and leans over Tenn to adjust the small tabletop mirror before them. “Tenn-nii, want me to help you put it on?”</p><p>“Oh, I…” It’s a little embarrassing, like this. Tenn stares back at his own reflection, wavering slightly in the flickering, orange-tinted candlelight. </p><p>Riku doesn’t wait for an answer. He’s already combing through Tenn’s hair and brushing back the longer sides of his bangs, searching for a place with which to pin the accessory. Gentle fingers brush against the nape of his neck, lingering.</p><p>Belatedly, Tenn realizes how unequal it must seem for him to receive such a lavish gift while Riku had been given nothing, and he wonders if he should have approached the situation with more tact.</p><p>But Riku doesn’t seem upset. Tenn’s hair is too short to mimic the fashionable styles young women wore with their hairpins, but Riku finds a place for it anyways, fastening the hairpin above his left ear with the same tender motions and then presenting it to the mirror with a wide smile and a flourish. “Ta-dah! How’s that?”</p><p>Peering at his own reflection, Tenn hesitantly reaches up to brush his fingers against the sparkling jewels, admiring how they catch in the light. His earlier sense of embarrassment is fading, being replaced by a sense of wonder and elation instead. “<em>Oh</em>,” he breathes, and turns to give Riku a beaming smile. “Thank you, Riku. It looks perfect!”</p><p>Riku’s grin falters a little around the edges, but he recovers quickly, guiding Tenn back to face the mirror. “Well, that’s because Tenn-nii is so beautiful.”</p><p>Tenn laughs. “The hairpin is the centerpiece, not me.”</p><p>“No, it’s definitely Tenn-nii!”</p><p>Such ornamental accessories cannot be worn to bed, but Riku helps him pin up his hair again the next morning so he can wear it to the Osaka House. Gaku’s eyes light up when he catches sight of him, and Tenn has to fight to keep the smile from showing on his face, too.</p><p>“Come visit again, Gaku-san,” Riku says, as they bid him goodbye. “Write us lots of letters in the meantime!”</p><p>“Of course,” Gaku reaches out to give Riku’s hair an affectionate ruffle. He doesn’t do the same to Tenn, in fear of disturbing the delicate silver flowers, but the way his gaze lingers on him is meaningful enough. Then, taking note of the watchful eyes of the Osaka patriarch, he draws back to a more respectable distance. “Expect something from me come July, okay?”</p><p>Tenn smiles. “Don’t spoil us too much.”</p><p>It had been a short visit, with a forced goodbye that had come all too soon. But only until next time.</p><p>Meanwhile, he should put the days in between to good use.</p><hr/><p>Unfortunately, an investigation into Minakami’s time-old rituals is also much easier said than done.</p><p>When they were younger, the two of them had been lonely and alienated by their peers. Over time, Tenn has grown to understand that the other children simply mimicked their parents; out of a strange mixture of fear and respect, <em> everyone </em>in Minakami gave him and Riku a wide berth. The only people who addressed them normally were their parents, Ceremony Master Kujou, and the priests from the Kureha Shrine.</p><p><em> The twin deities</em>, the villagers whisper. <em> The crimson butterfly, and the Remaining</em>.</p><p>Tenn tries to talk to Ceremony Master Kujou first. He’s careful to frame his questions as one of concern, coming from a sense of anxiety and genuine desire to perform well. </p><p>He’s not surprised when Kujou smoothly sidesteps his inquiries and sends him on his way, but it does present him with the rather depressing reality of just how <em> limited </em>his resources are. The degree of secrecy is beginning to scare him, too. Gaku’s right. This isn’t normal. Just what are they being expected to do? If it’s just about him, then Tenn might be able to grit his teeth and bear with it. </p><p>But what about Riku? His body is frail. If the ritual turns out to be taxing on him...</p><p>
  <em> No matter what happens, I have to protect Riku. </em>
</p><p>Unfortunately, the Kureha Shrine priests are even more-tight lipped than Kujou. There’s no point in talking to the rest of the villagers, either. If he asked around too much, it would only arouse suspicion. </p><p>Not even their parents can know. Instinctively, Tenn knows – if push comes to shove, they will not take his side.</p><p>In the end, the only person he can confide in is Riku.</p><p>“Alternate sources of information?” </p><p>The two of them laid side by side, facing each other in futons they’d pushed together. Absent-mindedly, he adjusts the blankets, pulling it up to Riku’s chin. It’s almost summer now, but the night chills might still make him sick.</p><p>Riku lets him do it. “If it’s about the ritual, then...only the Ceremony Master and his priests know, right? Kujou-san didn’t tell you anything?”</p><p>“He says that we’ll have to wait until the time is right.”</p><p>“But you don’t want to wait?”</p><p>“I’m not sure,” Tenn takes a deep breath. His next words catch on the tip of his tongue. The mere <em> thought </em>of it feels like a betrayal to the village they’ve always known as home, but– “The intense secrecy around the issue worries me. No matter what the ritual involves, we are undoubtedly the primary participants. So why can’t we know?”</p><p>Riku doesn’t answer right away. He lets out a small sigh, shuffling closer and reaching under the covers to link their fingers together. </p><p>“You got worried after talking to Gaku-san, right?”</p><p>“Yes,” Tenn admits. He knows what Riku is getting at. “This isn’t a new idea that Gaku planted in my head, though. I’ve questioned these things for a while. For example...why does everyone treat us so differently?”</p><p>Riku’s answer comes swiftly, without hesitation. “Because we’re special. One day, we’ll become twin deities.”</p><p>“But how exactly will that happen? What is the process?” He doesn’t <em> feel </em> special. In fact, the more he thinks about it, the more anxious he gets. “You must’ve heard the adults talk. The bad harvests, the unpredictable weather...the earthquakes. Whatever is going to happen, it’s going to happen <em> soon</em>. And we still don’t know anything.”</p><p>There’s a moment of silence.</p><p>Under the blankets, Riku reaches out to grab his hand. They used to hold hands everywhere as children. It’s still enough to bring a sense of comfort, even now.</p><p>“Personally, I think it’ll be fine to wait,” Riku says. “If they haven’t told us yet, then there simply must not be a need. Kujou-san wouldn’t hide anything to the detriment of the ritual.”</p><p>“Riku, I–”</p><p>“<em>However</em>,” Riku puts a finger to his lips, making a motion for silence. “If Tenn-nii is worried, then I don't want to let you do it alone. This is...really bothering you, right?"</p><p>"I'm worried about what they want us to do," Tenn whispers. "What they want <em>you</em> to do."</p><p>"Then let’s look into it together," Riku says. In the dim, flickering shadows, Tenn can just make out his sweet, thoughtful smile. "I'll do my best, too."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>we've finally moved on to the...main events, i suppose? the twins are about 17 now.</p><p>leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed! as always, i'm <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/redigitizing">@redigitizing</a></strong> on twitter</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. tangled</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A few days later, Riku takes him through the overgrown forest trails, but turns left instead of following the usual path to the Kureha Shrine. </p><p>“Where are we going?”</p><p>“It’s a surprise!” Riku beams, bubbling with excitement. “Just wait and see."</p><p>The two of them eventually come to a stop at the deserted clearing by the Old Tree, but they aren’t alone. There is a black-haired boy already waiting by the hollowed tree stump.</p><p>“Hello,” he says. </p><p>Tenn recognizes the boy. Izumi Iori is a year younger than them, but very bright and possibly the youngest ever apprentice taken in by the Kujou House priests. He’s also one of the few who aren’t afraid to speak to the twins, though Tenn only regards him as a distant acquaintance. He knows that Iori is closer with Riku, though.</p><p>“Thanks for coming, Iori!” Riku is already running up to the other boy, throwing his arms around him and smiling brightly. “You didn’t wait long, did you?”</p><p>Iori gingerly extracts himself from Riku’s hold, shaking his head. “Not at all, Nanase-san. I only arrived moments before you.”</p><p>“I’ve told you, just call me Riku!”</p><p>A long-suffering sigh. “Nanase-san–”</p><p>“Tenn-nii is ‘Nanase-san,’ too. If you keep calling me that, you’re gonna mix us up,” Riku insists. He gives Iori a puppy-eyed look. “Say ‘Riku.’”</p><p>“...Please do not give me instructions like I am some sort of pet,” Iori says flatly. Still, he gives in without further protest. “Riku...san.” Dark eyes flicker over. “Tenn-san. I am here to inform you that, three days from now, Ceremony Master Kujou and the other priests will be heading to the Kureha Shrine early in the morning for annual prayers.”</p><p>Tenn’s eyes widen. He looks over at Riku, but there’s no trace of surprise on Riku’s face – only satisfaction.</p><p>“Circle around to the courtyard,” Iori continues. “And knock three times upon the back door. My older brother works there as a cook, and I’ve told him to let you in. I will also leave as many rooms unlocked as I can. <em> However</em>,” he gives them a long look. “Once you are inside, you are on your own. Do not involve yourselves with my brother, and do not ask for him to assist you any further.”</p><p>Slowly, Tenn nods. His mind is racing to catch up, mapping out all the possible grounds to cover. “Will the house be empty?”</p><p>“Not entirely. A skeleton crew of servants will remain, but they’ll be busy with storeroom inventory at this time of year.”</p><p>All things considered, these are favorable circumstances. “How much time will we have?”</p><p>“The prayers will take all morning, so I’d estimate at least three to four hours.”</p><p>“That should be long enough,” Riku says. “Right, Tenn-nii?”</p><p>Not necessarily, since Tenn isn’t even sure what they should be <em> looking </em>for, but that time frame is a lot more generous than what he’d expected. “We’ll make do.” Turning back to Iori, he bows and speaks with heartfelt sincerity. “This means a lot. Thank you.”</p><p>“Thank you!” Riku echoes.</p><p>Iori doesn’t smile, but his eyes do soften a little when he looks at Riku. “I’ve done all that I can,” he murmurs. “Nanase-san. Promise me something.”</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p>“If the two of you are caught,” Iori says. “If you <em> must </em>find someone to blame, give Ceremony Master Kujou my name.”</p><p>Riku’s smile falters. “Iori…”</p><p>“The household staff will always be suspected first. I don’t want them to target my brother.”</p><p>That, at least, is a sentiment Tenn can understand. “You have my word that we won’t do anything to implicate Izumi Mitsuki,” he says. “We won’t throw you to the wolves, either. If Riku and I are caught, the blame will rest solely upon our shoulders.”</p><p>“That’s right!” Riku quickly agrees. “We’ll find an excuse somehow, so don’t you worry!”</p><p>The promise is sealed. Iori leaves as quietly as he had come, disappearing behind the undergrowth of the small forest trail.</p><p>“How did you convince him to help?” Tenn asks, after a brief silence.</p><p>“I just asked. No, really!” Riku insists, when Tenn makes a disbelieving sound. “I mean– I had to push a little. But Iori is a lot nicer than he looks.”</p><p>Huh. “When did the two of you get so close?”</p><p>“Well, I had to occupy myself <em> somehow </em> while you were off with Gaku-san.”</p><p>Tenn turns with a start, but Riku is still smiling, as if those hidden barbs had only been a figment of Tenn’s imagination. Perhaps it is. Sunlight peeks through the foliage while a few red butterflies flutter overhead, lingering around the twins as they always do.</p><p>“This is enough, right?” Riku says lightly. “We’ll sneak in, and get the info we need.”</p><p>“...Yes. Let’s make good use of the chance Izumi Iori gave us.”</p><p>“Mhm! After this, Tenn-nii can stop worrying so much!”</p><p>Tenn smiles back weakly. <em> I hope so, too</em>.</p><hr/><p>They have three days. </p><p>Which isn’t a lot, considering all the preparations that had to be made before then. The Kujou House is <em> huge </em>, separated from the rest of Minakami village by a lake and only accessible through the Whisper Bridge. Tenn had been there a handful of times before, but those visits were always tightly regulated – servants of the Kujou House would herd him through narrow hallways and heavy wooden doors, never allowing guests to wander freely.</p><p>That doesn’t stop Tenn from trying to draw up a floor plan of the grounds anyways, bent over a scribbled map and filling in as many rooms as he can. There’s the great hall, where Kujou holds his lavish year-end feasts. The antechamber, where a servant will sometimes play koto for the guests while they wait. The long hallway leading to the family altar room, with long trails of cloth hanging from the rafters overhead…</p><p>“There’s another room at the end of the cloth hallway,” Riku says. “I don’t know where it leads, though.”</p><p>Tenn marks it down. “Anything else?”</p><p>“Um, I think the corridor to the great hall also branches out halfway! The family altar room has stairs on both sides, so maybe it leads to a cellar?”</p><p>The two of them stay up, working by candlelight and comparing their memories of the house against each other. Riku nods off halfway into the night, yawning and leaning heavily against Tenn’s shoulder. </p><p>Tenn lays him down, and gently draws a blanket over Riku before turning back to work.</p><p>The sun is rising, candles burnt to a stub by the time he’s finally finished. Riku is aghast upon waking up to discover that Tenn had never slept at all, but Tenn is buzzing with too much adrenaline to feel tired. They have a detailed map of the ground floor, now. He knows that the second floor can be accessed through the stairs at the family altar room, and that it leads right into a series of partition screens, then Kujou’s private quarters.</p><p>He knows, from previous visits, that Kujou usually leaves his door unlocked.</p><p>It’s best if they can get what they want without needing to sneak into such a taboo place, of course. But if the answer to his questions can be found anywhere, then it <em> has </em>to be in Kujou’s old tomes. </p><p>The twins spend the remainder of the two days memorizing their makeshift map and agreeing on a path of exploration; they’ll search the ground floor first, confirm whether there is a cellar, then make their way up to the second floor. If the prayers are to take three to four hours, then they will depart around the two-and-a-half hour mark, with plenty of time to make themselves scarce before the congregation returns.</p><p>On the eve of the second day, Tenn finds himself so anxious that he can hardly sleep. “You don’t have to come with me,” he says. “Perhaps I should go alone.”</p><p>“What? Why?”</p><p>“That way, if I am caught, they won’t punish you.”</p><p>“Don’t be silly,” Riku lets out a little huff and kicks him under the blanket. “We’d be faster if you have an extra pair of eyes! Besides, what’s the worst they can do as punishment? Put us under house arrest for a couple months?”</p><p>That’s true. A benefit for their unique status, Tenn supposed – when it came to the twins who are supposed to one day become guardian deities, corporal punishment and hard labour are out of the question. “Maybe. You’d go stir-crazy within a few weeks.”</p><p>“Will I?” Riku hums. “As long as Tenn-nii is with me, I don’t mind.”</p><p>They head out before dawn the next day, sneaking through empty village streets and towards the far north of the village, stopping just short of the Whisper Bridge. It’s still dark, but the crimson butterflies light the way for them, glowing faintly. Tenn settles them down in the corner of an alley, where they will be hidden in the shadows, yet granted with a good view of the front gates.</p><p>“How are you feeling, Riku? Is it too cold?”</p><p>“I’m okay!”</p><p>Tenn drapes a shawl over his shoulders anyways, fussing quietly until Riku allows him to adjust it for a tight, snug fit. Luckily, they don’t have to wait much longer. The sun is barely up when the footsteps start to sound – Kujou and his entourage appear a few moments later, then vanish down the village’s main roads in the direction of the forest. </p><p>Tenn holds his breath, but nobody looks their way.</p><p>“I saw Iori,” Riku murmurs. “Near the back.”</p><p>“It’s only natural that he’d go with the rest of the priests,” Tenn replies. Kujou’s group had gone by, so he stands up – there are pins and needles in his legs from crouching so long, and he stretches to get rid of them. “Now’s our chance. Let’s hurry.”</p><p>The Whisper Bridge creaks as they rush past, sneaking around the front entrance and towards the courtyard in the back while glancing guilty behind their shoulders all the while. Tenn knocks thrice, as instructed, and holds his breath.</p><p>The back door swings open almost immediately, revealing a young man with orange hair, his cheeks smudged with flour. “Come in,” Izumi Mitsuki says in a hushed whisper. “Iori told me to expect the two of you.”</p><p>Riku goes first. Tenn follows, shutting the door quietly behind himself. </p><p>Mitsuki doesn’t quite smile – he looks way too nervous for that – but he does guide them inside until they’d reached the familiar area of the great hall. “The rest of the staff are in the warehouse doing inventory, so you shouldn’t run into them in the main area.”</p><p>“Got it. Thank you, Mitsuki-san!” Riku is already turning, ready to go. The silence of the gigantic estate is eerie, and there’s no time to be wasted. </p><p>But Mitsuki stops them, grasping awkwardly at Tenn’s shoulder before he can leave. “Will you,” he hesitates. “Will you two be alright? Do you need me to–?”</p><p><em> I’ll help if you need it, </em> his eyes say. <em> Because you are Iori’s friend</em>.</p><p>Tenn softens. “We’ll be okay. Thank you, Izumi-san, but please just ignore us from now on.”</p><p>“We promised Iori, after all,” Riku adds. “That we won’t get you in trouble.”</p><p>Mitsuki’s expression is still tense, but he bids them goodbye and disappears behind one of the dark corridors. The twins are now left alone, standing next to the western doors of the great hall.</p><p>“Let’s check out that branching hallway first,” Tenn says.</p><p>They take a right, but it leads into a dead-end path with a single door that can’t be opened. Next is the antechamber, then the grand entrance and cloth hallway, which are all very familiar. The two of them proceed quietly, holding hands as they push the white, fluttering fabric aside, going right past the double doors of the family altar room and proceeding further down the hall than they’d ever been allowed to go before.</p><p>To Tenn’s surprise, it’s another dead end with a locked door. “It’s probably not anything important,” Riku suggests. “All the way off to the side, like this.”</p><p>“Maybe.”</p><p>In the end, they had no choice but to backtrack to the family altar room. They’d been here before. Kujou-san invited them over, sometimes, and he’d always tell them stories in this traditional, yet lavishly-decorated room. There are a few books laid out on the shelves, but a quick look tells Tenn that it’s merely the same books Kujou had them read when they were younger. It told stories about the village’s twin deities, but only in vague, fantastical terms with no practical information whatsoever.</p><p>The real interests of this room are its three staircases.</p><p>One of them led to the second floor. Tenn had seen it in the past, when he’d requested an audience with Kujou and had been permitted to speak to him in his private quarters. The other two, however, had always been off-limits.</p><p>Exchanging a nod, the twins take the left staircase. It leads into an underground cellar, just as they’d expected, and a mirroring set to the right indicates that these had merely been a pair of stairs leading to the same place. The area itself is large but curiously empty, save for a stone well at the very center and some artfully-placed partition screens around the edges.</p><p>“There’s nothing here,” Riku says, disappointed. “Should we go back up?”</p><p>Tenn hesitates, sweeping his gaze across the empty room. “No, hold on a moment.” </p><p>He strides forward, circling around the paper partition screens. And there, camouflaged against the plain wooden wall, is a nondescript door that matched the wood markings so perfectly that it seems to have been carved right out of the wall itself. When he twists the doorknob, it swings open with nary a sound.</p><p>“The partition screens are placed here to hide it,” Tenn breathes. “This must be–”</p><p>“–A hidden passageway of sorts!” Riku finishes, his eyes alight with excitement. He takes the first step forward. “Maybe this is what we’re looking for.”</p><p>The passageway is pitch black, with the sort of unpleasantly damp, stale smell of a place that never experienced the sun or open air. They hadn’t thought to bring a candle, so the two of them are forced to feel along the walls blindly, holding hands so as to not get separated.</p><p>They must have been walking for two or three minutes before Riku suddenly lurches to a stop, letting out a small “ow!”</p><p>Unable to stop in time, Tenn bumps into his back. “Riku?” his free hand flies up, clutching at Riku’s shoulder. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”</p><p>“I’m alright! Just stubbed my toe on something,” Riku squeezes his hand. “I think we’ve reached another wall– no, wait, maybe a door? Hold on.”</p><p>There’s some fumbling, then the loud creaks of rusted hinges, and they’re finally greeted by light again as it pours in from the next area. It’s a much more pleasant place, with wooden lattice patterns all over the walls and red-tinted oil lanterns, casting a warm glow over the rest of the small room. This must be another antechamber of sorts, because there’s nothing else here; only a large pair of double doors resting at the other side. </p><p>Cautiously, Tenn tries out the knob, and is surprised to find it giving way as well. “All of these are unlocked,” he murmurs. “If they went through so much trouble to conceal these areas, you’d think they’d remember to lock them up.”</p><p>“Maybe they’re just that confident,” Riku says. “Or maybe it’s Iori. He did say he’d leave as many doors unlocked as he can.”</p><p>Together, they step through the next door.</p><p>The first thing Tenn sees is a small stone altar. Next, he notices the six wooden pillars around it, extending at least two or three times his own height. Thick, knotted ropes are fastened around the wooden pillars with hooks, as if they might have once held something in the air between them – but now, in the absence of an object, they dangle limply, unmoving. More ropes hung from the criss-cross of rafters above.</p><p>“What do you think that is for?” Riku whispers.</p><p>Tenn swallows. “I don’t know,” he says. “Let’s look around.”</p><p>There’s another door across the room, but Tenn elects not to look at that right now – instead, he makes his way towards the wooden pillars and traces a finger over its surface. They’re sturdily built, but the edges are beginning to splinter with age. The altar in the center is made of smooth stone. Placed carefully upon it, arranged as if in an offering, are–</p><p>
  <em> Knives? </em>
</p><p>A chill runs down Tenn’s spine as he gazes upon the assortment of long, sharp blades before him. There has to be seven...no, eight knives set upon the altar. They are all very clean, gleaming a bright, stainless silver.</p><p>Unnerved, he takes a step back from the altar, and bumps into one of the wooden pillars instead. It’s thick enough to not even shake from the impact, but upon closer inspection, Tenn feels his stomach tie itself into further knots. There are <em> stains </em>upon the wood, faded with age but numerous enough to indicate that something had been spilled over it many, many times in the past. </p><p>Was it something made in offering?</p><p>“Tenn-nii, come look at this!”</p><p>Riku’s voice makes him jump. Tenn looks over to see him near a series of small shelves near the edge of the room, holding up a book.</p><p>“<em>Gaze not upon the Abyss</em>,” Riku is already reading from it. “<em>For eyes that glimpse the abyss will be blinded, without light. Speak not of the Abyss, for the mouth which utters its name will be made speechless by its curse</em>.” </p><p>He claps a hand over his mouth immediately afterwards, as if just realizing what he had been saying, then sheepishly looks back up at Tenn. “Well, I can still talk…”</p><p>Tenn is beside him now, and he reads out the last verse. “<em>Listen not to the Abyss, for those who heed its cries are turned heartless, their very souls destroyed</em>.” He pauses, exchanging a puzzled look with Riku. “What is the ‘abyss?’”</p><p>“Beats me.” Riku is flipping through the book again, scanning through its pages in the dim candlelight. “There’s a lot of instructions here. Look, it must be about this room– <em> tie the ropes around the subject until they hang, suspended above the altar... </em>”</p><p>Unbidden, Tenn turns back to the wooden pillars at the center. </p><p>“And then...oh, look, here!” Riku shoves the next page under his nose. “It’s called <em>The Hidden Ritual.</em> <em>In the years when there is no Crimson Sacrifice, the Abyss may grumble with dissatisfaction, and must be presented with a Kusabi. Crops will fail, the weather will become unpredictable, and the very ground beneath us will become restless</em>.”</p><p>“The ground,” Tenn stills. He exchanges a look with Riku, suddenly pale-faced. <em> The ground, the crops, the weather. That’s all... </em></p><p>Riku swallows hard.</p><p>“<em>A Kusabi must be an outsider, </em> ” he continues. <em> “Aptly prepared in a ritual to become a sacrificial replacement. Lay them upon the stone altar, and raise them into the air until they hang suspended. Take up the...t-the</em>,” Riku’s voice quivers. “<em>The knives</em>.”</p><p>Neither of them have the courage to read the next part out loud, but the words stand out undeniably at the center of the page.</p><p><em> The sacrifice must be alive when they are presented to the Abyss. The more suffering a Kusabi endures, the greater the extent to which the Abyss is appeased </em>.</p><p>There’s no doubt now what those pillars had been stained with. Tenn wants to throw up.</p><p>“This can’t be true, right? The instructions can’t be <em> literal</em>.” Riku, who’s maintained a fairly carefree attitude up until now, had turned ghostly white as he shoved the book back with shaking fingers. “They can’t be...I mean, if they did it with a goat or chicken that would be one thing, but...an outsider…?”</p><p>
  <em> Outsiders like– </em>
</p><p>“I don’t know,” Tenn chokes out. There are more books on the shelf and another pair of doors they hadn’t tried in the end, but the room itself had become overbearing and suffocating. He can’t bear to stay any longer. “Don’t touch anything else. Let’s go back.”</p><p>Riku doesn’t need to be told twice. The two of them break into a run once they reach the connecting corridor. </p><p>It’s a relief to finally reach the well-lit area of the Kujou House cellar once more, and Tenn slams the hidden door shut behind them. Wordlessly, the two of them hurry up the stairs back into the family altar room, only pausing to look around and check that nobody else had come here while they were gone.</p><p>Riku is already heading towards the double doors leading back into the cloth hallway. Tenn starts to follow him, but then remembers the second set of stairs leading up into the second floor. “Wait!” his voice comes out too loudly. He hastily lowers it, reaching out to grab Riku’s sleeve. “Wait,” Tenn repeats, more quietly this time. “Riku, we can’t leave yet.”</p><p>“Why not? That was a book about their freaky rituals!”</p><p>“It was about their rituals, but it wasn’t about <em> us</em>,” Tenn takes a deep breath. “It only talks about the outsiders. This isn’t what we came for.”</p><p>“But…!”</p><p>“We won’t get this chance again. We need to get to the bottom of this <em> today</em>.” Tenn turns around. “Come on.”</p><p>After a moment, he hears the predictable pitter-patter of feet as Riku runs after him, grabbing his hand. Ascending up to the second floor together, their only comfort is that this is somewhat of a more familiar territory. Past the decorative partition screen room, they stop in front of the master’s room – Kujou’s private quarters.</p><p>Briefly, Tenn wonders if it may be locked this time, but the door swings soundlessly open at a touch, just like the last time he’d visited.</p><p>“Search the shelves,” he instructs, voice only trembling a little. “Let’s do this quickly.”</p><p>They set to work, starting from opposite sides of Kujou’s massive bookshelf. Most of the books are not labeled, and it’s impossible to see which is which at a glance. Tenn is forced to pull them out each time, scan it over, then shove it back when he judges it to be irrelevant. He’s dimly aware of Riku doing the same. For several moments, there is only the sound of paper.</p><p>Then, out of the corner of his eye–</p><p>“Here!” Tenn slams the book open to the page labeled <em> Crimson Wing Tome </em> in bright red ink. Riku dashes over, though neither of them read it out loud this time.</p><p><em> Twins of the shrine, from the past and future </em> <em><br/></em> <em> The younger, made into a crimson butterfly </em> <em><br/></em> <em> Returns from the Abyss, as a guardian of the village. </em></p><p>Somehow, this isn’t terribly shocking. Tenn had always known that they were to become ‘deities’ in some way, and the bright red butterflies that fluttered around their village were distinctively unnatural. Gaku said he'd never seen such things anywhere else, not even once. </p><p>Not to mention that the butterflies themselves only liked to linger around him and Riku. Never anyone else.</p><p>The surprising thing is that only the <em> younger </em>is mentioned, here.</p><p>“...Am I going to turn into a butterfly?” Riku seems to follow the same train of thought. He sounds dazed. “Then...what about you, Tenn-nii?”</p><p>Silently, Tenn turns to the next page. </p><p><em> The elder, having marked the younger </em> <em><br/></em> <em> Shall bear the same image upon their throat </em> <em><br/></em> <em> The pain of loss shall never fade </em> <em><br/></em> <em> Yet, they must linger, as the Remaining</em>.</p><p>“I’ve heard that before,” Tenn murmurs. “The <em> Remaining</em>. The Old Tree is used for their burials.”</p><p>“So that refers to one of us?” Riku hesitates. “It refers to...you.”</p><p>Tenn stares down at the book, his eyes lingering on the word <em> loss</em>.</p><p>What is this? Aren’t they supposed to return to the form of one being? But if the Remaining are buried with mortal bodies, then…they can’t possibly be together.</p><p>“Let’s see if we can find something else,” he manages hoarsely. </p><p>Riku wordlessly wanders back to his side of the shelf. What must’ve been another fifteen or twenty minutes pass in silence before Riku calls out again, holding up a tattered brown book.</p><p><em> Disaster Tome</em>, this one reads.</p><p><em> If the ritual is not performed, </em> <em><br/></em> <em> The Abyss is unsealed and a great calamity will occur </em> <em><br/></em> <em> Inhuman beings shall burst forth from the gates of Hell </em> <em><br/></em> <em> Swallowing all around it </em> <em><br/></em> <em> And sealing the sky in darkness </em></p><p><em> We must think of this disaster as a Repentance; </em> <em><br/></em> <em> Our penance for failing our duties to the Abyss </em></p><p><em> We must learn that these duties are the very reason for our existence</em>.</p><p>Riku drops the book, leaving Tenn to pick it up between trembling fingers instead. “A calamity?” his voice is strangled. “<em>The gates of Hell? </em> This...this can’t be real, right?” he turns to Tenn, pleading. “Tenn-nii. Tenn-nii, what does it mean?”</p><p>Instead of answering, Tenn turns his gaze to the next passage.</p><p>
  <em> The abyss can only remain sealed through the Crimson Sacrifice Ritual. </em>
</p><p><em> Through it, the twins of the shrine become one again, </em> <em><br/></em> <em> And they are so consecrated to appease the Abyss. </em> <em><br/></em> <em> The elder shall remain, watching over the human world, </em> <em><br/></em> <em> While the younger shall pass through the Abyss, calming the earth. </em></p><p><em> Laid upon the ritual altar, </em> <em><br/></em> <em> The younger shall offer their very self </em> <em><br/></em> <em> A life, freely offered and freely taken </em> <em><br/></em> <em> Shall become our sacred protection</em>.</p><p>This time, Tenn drops the book as well. Beside him, Riku lets out a despairing sound between a sob and a whimper, and Tenn momentarily forgoes all else to sweep Riku into a crushing hug. “It’s okay,” he says fiercely, even as his own voice quivers. “It’s okay, Riku. I won’t– no matter the others say, I won’t, I don’t <em> care– </em>”</p><p>They sink down to the floor together with Tenn still cradling Riku in his arms, while Riku presses his face into Tenn’s shoulder like he’s trying to melt into him. </p><p>“It’s okay,” Tenn keeps saying, because that’s all he <em> can </em>say. His thoughts are in disarray, trying to make sense of the new reality they’d been presented – at the foremost of it all is a desperate denial of all they’d learned, even as all the pieces slowly fell into place.</p><p>The Crimson Butterfly, and the Remaining. The villagers spoke of them as separate entities, because they <em> are</em>.</p><p>Even if they are to become guardian deities, even if they are both to watch over the village–</p><p>They will not do it together.</p><p>They won't be together ever again, because Riku will...</p><p><em> Laid upon the ritual altar, </em> <em><br/></em> <em> The younger shall offer their very self. </em></p><p>How can such a thing ever be freely given? How can it be<em> freely taken </em>?</p><p>“I won’t do it, Riku,” Tenn chokes out. “I won’t. If this is what they want, I’d rather–”</p><p>He doesn’t get to finish his sentence, because at that moment, the door slams open.</p><p>Tenn jumps, and his heart leaps to his throat for the third time that day as he fears for the worst – but then he sees a head of orange hair, and realizes that it’s just Mitsuki. The elder Izumi brother looks confused upon seeing them on the floor, but swallows his puzzlement well enough to make a vague, hurried motion with his hands. </p><p>“The rest of the servants are almost done inventory,” he urges. “They’re going to come back to prepare lunch, and the house will be filled with people once more. You have to leave.”</p><p>“But–”</p><p>“<em>Now.</em>”</p><p>Riku staggers to his feet. Tenn does, too, and only has a presence of mind to snatch the fallen book off the ground, trying to stuff it back to where it had been before.</p><p>As he does so, he catches sight of another passage on the same page, but written in a distinct handwriting that he recognized to be Kujou’s, as if it had been added in recent years.</p><p>
  <em> On December 13, 1874, the imperial edict proclaimed the one born first was the older twin. From that day, that became the accepted rule; it is what we will follow, in everyday life. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> However, ancient tradition would dictate the superior older twin to be– </em>
</p><p>Mitsuki’s voice sounds again, with growing urgency. “Nanase!”</p><p>“I’m coming!” Tenn snaps the book shut without reading the rest. He hastily shoves it back into the shelf, not looking back as he follows Mitsuki and Riku out of the room.</p><p>Leaving the Kujou House and all of its old, terrible secrets behind.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>the baseline concepts of the ritual are faithful to the concepts presented in fatal frame 2, though the ritual texts themselves have been modified due to the original texts being incredibly vague lol. tldr; human sacrifices are needed to seal the gates of hell in true japanese horror fashion, and this village decided they specifically needed to sacrifice twins. fun stuff!</p><p>as usual, i'm <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/redigitizing">@redigitizing</a></strong> on twitter! leave a comment or kudos and come yell at me, lol.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. knotted</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The rest of their escape from the Kujou House is a blur. </p><p>Riku vaguely remembers stumbling in through the front door to the questioning words of their parents, demanding to know where they’d gone off to so early in the morning. He remembers Tenn taking the lead, lips pulled back into a distant, artificial smile as he gave the well-rehearsed excuse they’d previously agreed upon.</p><p>He remembers Tenn pulling him into their room and bustling around, making him hot tea and gripping his hand and saying over and over, <em> it’s going to be okay. </em>Trying to comfort Riku, just as he’d always done since they were children.</p><p>For the first time, Riku doesn’t think he can believe him.</p><p>The Kujou House books had been written in a meandering, almost poetic prose – under normal circumstances, you could almost assume that the texts had been metaphors, not to be taken literally. </p><p>But not in Minakami village.</p><p>Because here, everything matches up. The crimson butterflies, which could not be found near the village. The twin deity statues. The wooden pillars and knives in the Hidden Ritual room. Even the odd turn of bad harvests, and the restless shaking of the earth below.</p><p>Who knows if there really is a so-called gate to hell under them somewhere? It doesn’t really matter, because the rest of this village <em> believed </em>in it regardless.</p><p>“Does mom and dad know?” he manages in a choked-off whimper. “About what we have to do?”</p><p>Tenn is still holding his hand, squeezing tightly, but the look on his face is cold as stone. “There’s no way they don’t.”</p><p>“I mean– maybe they didn’t...the details...”</p><p>“No,” Tenn says. “They told us about the twin deity statues, remember? <em> These statues are made in the likeliness of the twins before you. We hope that the two of you will also perform your duty, and bring honour to us</em> ,” his lips curl. “Our village is tiny. Everyone knows each other. If there is no uproar over one of their so-called twin deities getting <em> murdered </em>every now and then–” Riku flinches, but Tenn carries on without pause. “Then they must be fully aware of the matter already.”</p><p>Riku falls meekly silent. Tenn doesn’t speak, either. He’d turned his gaze to the window, where a pair of crimson butterflies had settled.</p><p>Such delicate, beautiful creatures. With the way they constantly lingered around him and Tenn, Riku had once considered the butterflies their own little guardian angels. Now, he realizes that their presence had been more so an omen of death.</p><p><em> You’re waiting, right? For the day when I will become one of you</em>.</p><p>Abruptly, Tenn lets go of his hand and stalks over to red butterflies, sending them scattering with a sweep of his hand before he slams the window shut.</p><p>“Tenn-nii!” Riku cries. </p><p>“Gaku was right,” Tenn says. Earlier, he’d been fretful and anxious. Now, all of that has been replaced with a sharp, bitter fury, bubbling under the surface. “This ritual, this <em> village</em>...it’s all twisted. I should have listened to him earlier.”</p><p>Despite everything, it still feels wrong to hear such harsh words spoken about Minakami. Riku curls inwards on himself, hugging his knees to his chest. “But there’s nothing we can do,” he says helplessly. “Minakami is our <em> home</em>.”</p><p>Tenn’s response comes immediately. “If they intend to hurt you, then I don’t want anything to do with them anymore.”</p><p>The bold resolve in his voice sends a rush of warmth and gratitude through Riku, but even that is extinguished mere seconds later, as he takes in the reality of their situation. This is something the whole <em> village </em>had presumably accepted. There is no one they can go to for help. No way to plead for an exception, when the practice itself is age-old.</p><p>Closing his eyes, Riku thinks back on the twin deity statues. Of the twin with no face, their head obscured by the carvings of a delicate butterfly.</p><p>This isn’t fair. He doesn’t <em> want </em>to die. But his fate had been set in stone all along, from the moment he was born.</p><p>And not even Tenn-nii can change that now. </p>
<hr/><p>Almost in mockery of such world-changing revelations, their days in Minakami continue to be bland, tedious, and painfully ordinary in every way. </p><p>Riku spends the first few days constantly on edge, fearful that Ceremony Master Kujou will somehow discover their transgressions, but no one comes to disturb them. Iori had been accurate in predicting that the house would be left almost perfectly empty, and there had been no witnesses save for the Izumi brothers themselves.</p><p>But now, Riku wonders–</p><p>Had Iori known? What about Mitsuki?</p><p>Sometimes it feels like the world is closing in, collapsing and suffocating all around him. <em> Everyone already knows </em>. Maybe not the children, but certainly not the adults. This had been Minakami’s biggest open secret.</p><p>Did Iori help because he knew what was coming, and felt pity for him? But what about those things the book mentioned?</p><p><em> The Calamity of the Abyss</em>, Riku recalls. <em> The Repentance</em>.</p><p>Although he’s still struggling to come to terms with it, Riku thinks he can understand some of the sentiment behind the ritual. If the Abyss and its Repentance will truly result in the total destruction of their village, then...maybe an appeasement ritual would be the lesser of two evils, after all? As opposed to the loss of lives from everyone else.</p><p>...But it’s <em> him </em>they want to sacrifice. And he isn’t brave enough to feign fearlessness in the face of death, either.</p><p>Heaving a sigh, Riku leans back until he can rest his head upon the side of the Old Tree, closing his eyes to the sunlight. It’s considered somewhat of a sacred ground here, so most of the normal villagers don’t intrude upon its grounds. The area around the Old Tree tends to be very quiet, save for the whistle of ever-spinning pinwheels. </p><p>Tenn had never liked this place, saying that there’s something he found uncomfortable about the atmosphere, but Riku thought it was calming and peaceful. </p><p>Then, a shadow falls over him.</p><p>“Nanase-san.”</p><p>Riku hadn’t heard him arrive. But Iori is now standing before him now, wearing a serious expression as always. They used to meet here semi-frequently, and Riku liked to think they were friends. When Iori unexpectedly agreed to help him sneak into Kujou’s house, he’d thought for sure that this made them <em> close </em>friends, even if Iori refused to acknowledge it. </p><p>But now, Riku understands why Iori had kept a certain distance between them.</p><p>“Just call me Riku,” he says, smiling wanly. “How many times do I need to say it?”</p><p>“Your brother isn’t here right now, so there is no confusion,” Iori replies. He glances around, as if checking to see if they were really alone, then shifts so he can lean against the Old Tree as well. He doesn’t sit down. “Did you find what you were looking for?”</p><p><em> Does he know? Does he not know? </em> Riku closes his eyes, drawing in another shallow, unsteady breath. <em> Iori is a priest’s apprentice. He definitely knows. </em></p><p>“Yeah,” he finally says. “We did.”</p><p>“I see,” Iori’s expression barely changes, but somehow, he looks...relieved. </p><p>For a moment, both of them are silent.</p><p>“I wonder, sometimes,” Iori says. “Why you like this place so much. The Old Tree is where the Remaining are laid to rest.”</p><p>This is common knowledge. Riku opens his mouth to say so, but Iori beats him to it.</p><p>“The spinning pinwheels are meant to bring them the peace and comfort they could never find in life. Did you know? Despite their status as deities within Minakami, almost all of the Remaining led terribly short lives.” </p><p>Now, he looks straight at Riku.</p><p>“Separated from their other half, most were unable to bear the weight of what they’d done.”</p><p>A shiver runs down Riku’s spine. </p><p>If he had ever doubted that Iori knew the truth, he doubted no longer. He gazes back, uncertain of what to say, and jumps when Iori bends down to take his hand, pressing something small and hard into the center of his palm. Methodically, Iori folds his fingers closed over the object.</p><p>It’s a tiny key, engraved with the symbol of a pinwheel.</p><p>“There is an underground passage you can access from the Kureha Shrine,” Iori says. “It hasn’t been used in a long time, but the tunnels are still functional.”</p><p>Riku’s jaw drops. “Wha–”</p><p>“The door is near the back of the shrine, behind the storage shelves and old curtains. This is the key.”</p><p>“Hold on–”</p><p>“Let me finish, Nanase-san,” Iori urges, and a hint of something pleading enters his voice. “I’m not sure exactly where the tunnels will lead, but it <em> is </em> a way out. You should also know that the Kureha Shrine priests do their final prayers very late at night, so the area doesn’t empty out until two or three in the morning.”</p><p>“Iori,” Riku whispers. “Why are you telling me this?”</p><p>Instead of answering, Iori pulls away and takes two steps back. </p><p>“We shouldn’t meet here anymore. This is the last time,” his voice is very soft. “There is only one key, so don’t lose it.”</p><p>“But…!”</p><p>“Goodbye, Nanase-san.”</p><p>Iori departs as silently as he’d arrived. Riku closes his fist around the tiny pinwheel key, and buries his face in his arms.</p><p>His first thought is to show the key to Tenn, but ultimately decides against it. What Iori had been hinting at was abundantly clear, and also an extreme line of thinking – the kind that, once put in action, they couldn’t possibly come back from. </p><p>If they take that underground passage and escape, what will happen to the rest of Minakami? Will the abyss really overflow with malicious spirits? If his duty...if his <em> life’s purpose </em> is to prevent that from happening, then is it okay to run away?</p><p><em> ...Can </em>they even run away? Even if they got past the front gates, what about the forests all around them? The mountain?</p><p>Staying is scary. But leaving is scary, too.</p>
<hr/><p>Iori avoids him, after that, and his key becomes Riku’s secret. </p><p>As the days pass, Minakami becomes swelteringly hot – contrasting with the bizarre mid-summer cold snap from a few days ago, the air is now humid and without even the slightest hit of a breeze. If nothing else, their unpredictable weather matched up with what was written in Kujou’s books. </p><p>Heaving out a sigh, Riku put his head down upon folded arms. He almost dozes off like that, feeling drowsy in the pool of sunlight, when he hears the door to their room crack open.</p><p>“Welcome back, Tenn-nii,” Riku sits up. “Where did you go?”</p><p>“To the town square.”</p><p>Tenn says no more than that. He went out an awful lot recently, and in general seemed to withdraw into himself, rarely smiling. They haven’t talked much. </p><p>It’s hard to remember how he’d been so carefree only a few days ago, never expecting anything serious to come out of their investigation and wanting only to soothe Tenn’s anxieties. Now he simply feels numb, while Tenn…</p><p>There’s a different kind of look in Tenn’s eyes, now. Hollow, maybe. Somber.</p><p>But above all, <em> focused</em>.</p><p>It feels like a distance had been drawn between them, where there never was before. Tenn is keeping things to himself, and it makes Riku feel lonely. He rises from his seat and slides up to Tenn instead, clinging to his side and pressing his face into his brother’s shoulder, peeking at the piece of paper in his hand.</p><p><em> The elder, having marked the younger, shall bear the same image</em>–</p><p>Riku recoils. “What are you doing?”</p><p>“I wrote down everything I remembered from the books. To see if there were any meanings that we might have missed.” </p><p>Tenn unveils the rest of the paper scrap, showing a near-perfect transcription of the other tomes. <em> The Hidden Ritual </em> , details one section. <em> The Abyss, and its Repentance. The Consecration of Twin Deities.  </em></p><p>There are additional notes at the bottom, detailing Tenn’s own interpretations of the text. <em> The Crimson Butterfly, and the Remaining</em>.</p><p>Those, too, disappear as Tenn folds the paper up into a tiny square, slipping it between the cracks of the old tatami floor, where their parents will never think to look.</p><p>“I looked over the text for a long time,” Tenn stares down at his hands. “I tried to understand why they had to make it this way. How mom and dad could have condoned you to such a thing. But that doesn’t even really matter, does it? This is how Minakami <em> is</em>.”</p><p>“Tenn-nii–”</p><p>“Hey, Riku,” Tenn says, very softly. “Let’s run away from here.”</p>
<hr/><p>The essence of Tenn’s plan is very simple.</p><p>“There is no future here. No one will help us.” Tenn’s voice is held carefully even. “So we need to leave, as quickly as possible.”</p><p>There’s something ironic about the fact that both Tenn and Iori had reached the same conclusion, mere days apart from each other. The key is still hidden, stuffed under a corner of Riku’s pillow, and his gaze flits towards it momentarily. Should he tell Tenn now? Or...</p><p>“How?” he finally manages. “The path to Misono Hill is always watched.”</p><p>“Osaka Sougo may be willing to overlook our absence for a few hours. By the time he catches on, we’d already have a head start.”</p><p>“But then Sougo-san will be blamed!”</p><p>Tenn frowns, and begins to pick at the loose thread on his kimono sleeve. “I’m...looking into other options,” he says, a little uncomfortably. “I don’t want to incriminate Osaka Sougo. I <em> want </em>to find another way,” then, an imploring look. “I’m just saying Misono Hill is an option.”</p><p>The supposed passage beneath the Kureha Shrine is another option, of course. Even so, the idea seemed surreal. What are they supposed to do once they get out of Minakami’s territory? Neither of them had ever even stepped past the old torii gates, let alone make their way to the big cities down below.</p><p>“We’re in the middle of the mountains, and there isn’t another village or even a proper road for miles,” Riku tries. “How are we supposed to find our way around?”</p><p>“All we need is a guide,” Tenn immediately counters. “Others have made the trip, and so can we.”</p><p>“But who on earth would possibly be willing to–?”</p><p>Even as the words leave Riku’s mouth, realization dawns upon him. Which is why he isn’t entirely surprised when Tenn straightens with bold, renewed confidence.</p><p>“We have Gaku and Ryuu, so we’re not completely cut off from the outside world. If I ask them for help–” he leans forward, eyes bright, “They’ll surely come to get us!”</p><p>Riku stares. He tries to smile, because Tenn is looking at him so expectantly, but it comes out shaky around the edges.</p><p>Tenn’s smile fades a bit, too. “...Riku?”</p><p>“I,” Riku fumbles, but it’s impossible to articulate the mess of uncertainty and discomfort twisting up in his chest right now. “I...I don’t know, I…”</p><p>“It’s okay,” Tenn reaches out to grab Riku’s hand again. “Take a deep breath. I know this is a lot. I hadn’t wanted to leave, either, but…” he shakes his head. “I can’t let them hurt you<em>, </em>Riku. I won’t be able to bear it if anything happened to you."</p><p>“Okay,” Riku whispers.</p><p>“Just think about it, okay?” Tenn says. “But think quickly. We are running out of time.”</p><p><em> Because </em> <b> <em>you </em> </b> <em> are running out of time. </em></p>
<hr/><p><em> Think about it</em>, Tenn had said, as if he was still waiting for Riku’s opinion and input.</p><p>But as Riku soon learns, the fact is that Tenn had long made up his mind. It doesn’t matter if he is supposedly waiting for Riku to “think it over,” because Tenn is already proceeding with every assumption that they’ll follow <em> his </em> plans, preparation, and reasoning.</p><p>Tenn can be bossy sometimes. It’s a habit stemming from all the way back to their childhood, when Riku would recklessly push his delicate body past its limits, forcing Tenn to assume the role of a mature caretaker.</p><p><em> We’re going to stop now </em> , Tenn used to say, scolding in that very grown-up voice of his. <em> Lie back down. No, no, you can’t, keep the blanket on or you'll catch a chill! Riku should be a good boy and listen to me, okay? </em></p><p>Most of the time, Riku doesn’t mind. Tenn-nii knows best, after all. Better than those stuffy old village doctors. Better than their parents, who delegated most of Riku’s care to Tenn anyways. Better than Riku’s own naive, impulsive decisions.</p><p>But now, the idea of running away brought waves of anxiety that were almost as bad as the thought of his own rapidly-approaching death sentence. The pinwheel key continues to sit under Riku’s pillow, untouched. </p><p>“What if the Repentance is real?” he’d asked, once.</p><p>Tenn pauses, giving him a careful look. “What do you mean?”</p><p>“The Abyss,” Riku says. “What if it’s real? If we leave, what if it actually overflows with malicious spirits? Because, with the written passages about the bad harvests and earthquakes...all of these have come true.”</p><p>“...You’re still worried about everyone else, huh,” Tenn’s eyes soften. “Riku is very kind.”</p><p>“Aren’t you, Tenn-nii?”</p><p>“I’m not sure if I’m convinced yet,” Tenn looks away. “A couple years of unpredictable weather can be attributed to any number of things. Besides, they were prepared to sacrifice you for their own benefit.”</p><p>“Yes, but–”</p><p>“If they want to put <em> your </em>life on the line,” Tenn says, and in that moment, his voice is terribly cold. “Then I think it’s only fair for them to offer their own, first.”</p><p><em> This </em>side of his gentle, mild-mannered brother is unexpected and a little unnerving. But when Riku thought about it in reverse – if Tenn-nii had been the younger twin, fated to die – then he thinks he would’ve tried to get them out by any means possible, too. Regardless of the consequences. </p><p>If Tenn-nii’s life was at risk, then nothing else would matter. </p><p>But if they choose to leave...then what?</p><p>Up until now, Minakami had been their entire <em> world</em>. This isolated rural community could hardly have been called warm or welcoming, but it was all they knew. </p><p>In contrast, the world outside is filled with all kinds of uncertainties. Gaku and Ryuu often mentioned things that seemed strange and alien to Riku, and he could hardly imagine what those ‘big cities’ might actually be like. There might be new, bizarre dangers there that they knew nothing about, and Riku’s not sure if that’s any better at all.</p><p>Tenn seems to recognize his worries, on some level. “It’s going to be okay,” Tenn says that a lot, these days. “Gaku had wanted to take us sightseeing to the city for a long time, do you remember? He’ll make preparations – him and Ryuu both.”</p><p>“Mhm. Okay.”</p><p>“Oh, Gaku did mention that the city has these...machines? The air can get a little smokey sometimes, but he said we’ll keep you away from those parts.”</p><p>“That’s nice of him.”</p><p>“Isn’t it?” Tenn smiles. “I don’t know what it will be like, either, but if Gaku and Ryuu are there, then we’ll have help. We won’t be on our own.”</p><p><em> We won't be on our own</em>, Tenn says, like a reassurance.</p><p>But sometimes, Riku thinks that might be precisely the problem.</p><p>It's always <em> Gaku </em> this and <em> Ryuu </em> that, over and over. Riku knows Tenn is saying it to comfort him, but all it does is make him feel worse. “They’ll be there to help them adjust to the city,” Tenn keeps saying. “The Yaotomes have enough influence to keep us safe from Kujou-san. We just have to make it out of the mountain.”</p><p><em> I know</em>, Riku wants to scream. <em> I know already! Gaku and Ryuu are reliable and amazing and there’s nothing they can’t do! So much that you won’t stop talking about them! </em></p><p>He knows he’s being unfair. Gaku and Ryuu are good people. They’d always treated him kindly, bringing him gifts with each visit and even sending over expensive medicine from the city. But they are also closer to Tenn than they are to him. </p><p>And it’s not as if he <em> hated </em> outsiders, it’s not like he <em> wanted </em>Tenn to avoid making friends or some nonsense like that, but the fact is–</p><p>Life used to be just the two of them. </p><p>Tenn and Riku. </p><p>Riku and Tenn.</p><p>Everyone else stood a comfortable distance away. Even their parents were kept outside of the neat little bubble the twins had carved out for themselves, but that had only been possible because they lived in Minakami. Because here, they hadn’t had a <em> choice</em>.</p><p>What will happen once they leave? </p><p>Tenn already talks about Gaku and Ryuu all the time. Riku isn’t blind to the tentative romance blossoming between his older brother and Gaku, either – and all of this is while most of their exchanges still went through letters, with actual visits only taking place once or twice a year. Once Tenn found his freedom in the city, once his options opened up–</p><p>...Will he still need Riku at all?</p><p>After all, what can he do that other people can’t ten times over? Especially in an unfamiliar city. Riku would be useless – no, more than that, he’d be a <em> burden </em> because of this stupid, weak body that seized up if he so much as caught a chill or tried to run for a minute too long. </p><p>Tenn had looked after him for as long as they could both remember, but isn’t it about time Tenn got sick of it? Sick of <em> him? </em></p><p>Breathing in shakily, Riku closes his eyes.</p><p>If they hadn’t grown up in Minakami. If they hadn’t been ostracized, isolated, and looked upon with that strange mixture of fear and respect by the other villagers…</p><p>
  <em> Would Tenn-nii and I still be as close as we are today? </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>this is two days late bc i...forgot...whoops haha i'm also running out of pre-written chapters for the weekly schedule so let's, uh, hope that i can write faster after this? in the meantime, enjoy the... *vaguely waves hand at the 'codependency' tag*</p><p>as usual, i'm <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/redigitizing">@redigitizing</a></strong> on twitter! leave a comment or kudos and come yell at me.</p>
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